China says UN actions should be conducive to ease Syria's tension

BEIJING, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- China said on Wednesday relevant actions taken by the UN Security Council should be conducive to ease the tension in Syria.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu made the remarks after Russia and China, the two permanent members of the UN Security Council, on Tuesday vetoed a draft resolution, which meant to strongly condemn "the continued grave and systematic human rights violations by the Syrian authorities" and threatened punitive measures against the Middle East country.

"We hope relevant actions of the UN Security Council should help ease the tension in Syria, promote political dialogues to defuse differences, and maintain peace and stability in the Middle East," said Ma in a press release.

The draft resolution presented by relevant countries "put pressure blindly on Syria and threatened sanctions," Ma said. "The draft resolution will not help ease Syria's situation."

The draft resolution, presented by France, Germany, Portugal and Britain, won nine votes in favor, two against and four abstentions. South Africa, India, Brazil and Lebanon, the four non-permanent members of the Security Council, abstained.

Ma said China is always highly concerned with the development of Syria's situation.

"We call upon all parties concerned in Syria to stop all forms of violence, promote the government to put its commitment of reform into practice, start the Syrian-led inclusive political process as soon as possible, and actively support conciliation efforts of regional countries and organizations," he said.